EA Exam Study Plan 2026: What to Study First
Last reviewed: July 21, 2026. This plan reflects the July 1, 2026–February 28, 2027 domestic SEE testing cycle and tax law through December 31, 2025.
A useful EA exam study plan does not begin with chapter one of the largest book. It begins by measuring what you already know, mapping the misses to the current exam parts, and spending the most retrieval time where errors are both frequent and consequential.
For 2026, the IRS confirms three SEE parts—Individuals; Businesses; and Representation, Practices and Procedures. Each part has 100 questions, including 85 scored and 15 experimental questions, with 3.5 hours of exam time. The scaled passing score is 500 on a 200–800 scale.
Step 1: establish the current exam boundary
The 2026 exam uses the Internal Revenue Code, forms, and publications as amended through December 31, 2025; questions generally relate to calendar year 2025 unless stated otherwise. Old notes can still teach durable concepts, but thresholds and procedural details must match the tested cycle.
Use three anchors:
- The IRS Enrolled Agent FAQ for the current cycle, scoring, timing, and vendor rules.
- The current PSI Candidate Information Bulletin linked by the IRS for scheduling and topic detail.
- The official IRS sample questions to calibrate question style.
The IRS does not endorse a particular commercial course. Choose materials only after identifying whether you need instruction, organization, or more retrieval practice.
Step 2: take a cold diagnostic
Answer a small mixed set without notes, hints, or explanation previews. The goal is not to predict the final score from 15 questions. It is to identify the first weak area and observe how you retrieve rules under pressure.
Take EA Dojo's free 15-question diagnostic →
Record each miss as one of four problems:
- Rule gap: you never learned the rule.
- Retrieval gap: you recognized the answer only after seeing it.
- Fact-pattern error: you knew the rule but applied it to the wrong facts.
- Pacing error: you rushed, overthought, or ran out of time.
Different errors require different fixes. Rereading is appropriate for a rule gap; it is weak treatment for a retrieval or application gap.
What should you study first?
If you have individual-return experience
Begin with a Part 1 diagnostic, then give Part 2 or Part 3 the larger initial block. Familiarity with Form 1040 can hide weak business-basis or representation knowledge.
If you have bookkeeping or business-return experience
Begin with Part 2 to measure entity, basis, and property knowledge. Do not assume operational bookkeeping answers federal tax questions automatically.
If you are new to tax
Start with Part 1 fundamentals, but introduce Part 3 early. Representation rules, Circular 230, collections, appeals, and penalties are less intuitive than household filing topics and benefit from spacing.
If one passed part is already on the clock
Prioritize the remaining part whose score credit expires first. The IRS generally allows passed parts to carry over for up to three years from the date passed, subject to current transition relief.
An eight-week study template
This is a workload pattern, not a promise that everyone is ready in eight weeks.
| Week | Primary work | Readiness evidence |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cold diagnostic and current outline | Weak domains identified |
| 2 | Learn the two weakest domains | Can explain core rules without notes |
| 3 | Focused practice and written repairs | Misses produce corrected reasoning |
| 4 | Add the next domains; rematch old misses | Delayed recall improves |
| 5 | Mixed, untimed sets across the part | Accuracy survives topic switching |
| 6 | Timed sets and complete explanations | Pacing errors decrease |
| 7 | Full 100-question mock and review | Endurance and domain gaps measured |
| 8 | Targeted repair, second mixed mock, logistics | Stable performance without answer recognition |
For a longer runway, stretch each row across two weeks. Preserve the sequence: diagnose, learn, retrieve, mix, time, and simulate.
A repeatable weekly rhythm
- Day 1: learn or rebuild one weak domain.
- Day 2: closed-book questions on that domain.
- Day 3: a different domain plus delayed rematches.
- Day 4: mixed questions from everything studied so far.
- Day 5: explain misses in your own words.
- Day 6: timed set or mock segment.
- Day 7: light review or rest; schedule the next week from evidence.
EA Dojo's Card Forge follows the same logic: an answer can move from raw recall to a written repair, later rematch, and delayed tempering. Immediate recognition is not treated as durable mastery.
How much material do you need?
Use one primary instructional source, the current official authorities for verification, and enough questions to expose gaps. Constantly switching courses can feel productive while preventing cumulative review.
Compare formats and current prices in Best EA Study Materials for 2026. EA Dojo provides 566 free, primary-source-verified questions across all three parts, a 50-unit study path, flashcards, focused practice, and full 100-question mocks without requiring an account.
When should you schedule the exam?
Schedule when your evidence is stable enough to justify the nonrefundable $317 appointment fee—not because you finished watching every lecture. Useful evidence includes:
- repeated mixed-set performance rather than one high score;
- closed-book explanations of missed rules;
- completion of a full timed mock;
- enough pacing margin to review flagged questions; and
- an exam-day plan using the current PSI rules.
Review the PSI exam-day checklist and EA exam scoring guide before treating a practice percentage as an official cutoff. The IRS does not publish a raw-score conversion table.
Start the plan
- Take the diagnostic.
- Open the 50-unit study path.
- Practice the lowest-scoring domain.
- Write repairs for misses.
- Return for delayed rematches.
- Finish with a 100-question mock exam.
Primary sources
- IRS Enrolled Agent exam FAQ
- IRS official SEE sample questions
- IRS Circular 230 and Office of Professional Responsibility
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